AUTHOR=Buizza Chiara, Candini Valentina, Ferrari Clarissa, Ghilardi Alberto, Saviotti Francesco Maria, Turrina Cesare, Nobili Gianluigi, Sabaudo Margherita, de Girolamo Giovanni TITLE=The Long-Term Effectiveness of Psychoeducation for Bipolar Disorders in Mental Health Services. A 4-Year Follow-Up Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry VOLUME=10 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00873 DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00873 ISSN=1664-0640 ABSTRACT=Aims: The aims of the present study were to assess: the effectiveness of psychoeducation in mental health service (MHSs) in terms of time to first hospitalization during 4-year follow-up; the number and the days of hospitalizations, and the number of people hospitalized at 4-year follow-up; and variables associated with better outcome in BD patients.Methods: This is a controlled study involving an experimental group (N = 57) and a control group (N = 52). The treatment phase consists of 21 weeks, in which all participants received TAU, while the experimental group received additional psychoeducation.Results: The survival analysis showed significant differences in terms of time to first hospitalization of up to 4-year follow-up: the patients in the psychoeducation group showed a longer time free from hospitalizations than the control group. Concerning the predictors of time to first hospitalization, the only factor that showed a trend to statistical significance was psychoeducation.Conclusions: This is one of few studies assessing the long-term effectiveness of psychoeducation in a naturalistic setting. The data confirm that psychoeducation can impact illness course, in terms of longer time free from hospitalizations.Trial registration: ISRCTN17827459